EVERY schoolboy knows that the GAA was founded in Hayes Hotel in Thurles in 1884. The establishment has fallen on lean times in recent years and, having gone into receivership last year, was auctioned in Dublin this week.

It was sold for €650,000 to a surprise buyer in Jack Halley, the 27-year-old son of Fethard and Coolmore veterinary surgeon John Halley. Jack works in the hospitality business in London and has high hopes of restoring Hayes Hotel to its former glory. The GAA is known to be interested in maintaining a link with the hotel and no doubt the Halley family’s links with the racing world will also bring a few new faces through the doors.